As things heat up in the case against the two men accused of murdering Jam Master Jay in his recording studio in October 2002, federal prosecutors have revealed exactly what they expect several key witnesses will say on the stand. 

In new court filings issued Tuesday, federal prosecutors detailed pieces of the puzzle that they claim will show how Ronald "Tinard" Washington held Jay's receptionist at gunpoint while Karl Jordan Jr., aka Young Yadi, shot Jay in the head.

The documents detail several alleged acts of witness intimidation, many of them allegedly orchestrated by Washington or Jordan while they sat in jail after their August 2020 arrests. They also confirm that prosecutors will attempt to introduce rap lyrics by Jordan as evidence of his willingness to commit violence. 

The documents also reveal that there are at least two uncharged co-conspirators in Jay's killing that have yet to be publicly identified. They are referred to in the records as "Co-Conspirator 1" and "Co-Conspirator 2." 

Prosecutors have alleged the motive was a dispute over cocaine trafficking and recently confirmed media reports that Jay was involved in drug sales with a member of BMF. 

The trial was supposed to occur in early 2023, but it has been delayed. Prosecutors are pushing to move it no later than November 2023, but another date of January 2024 has also been proposed. 

But there is good news for both men in the prosecution's court papers too. Prosecutors detailed how authorities attempted several times to link bullets from other shootings involving Jordan to a .40 caliber handgun used to murder Jay. Each time, the bullets were either too mangled for a ballistics examination, or the test eliminated the gun as the murder weapon. 

Meanwhile, Washington's defense attorneys have indicated they will call a renowned memory expert, Dr. Geoffrey Loftus, to dispute an eyewitness identification. They say that Jay's receptionist, Lydia High, initially claimed she didn't recognize the man who held her at gunpoint that night but later identified that person as Washington. Loftus and his wife, Elizabeth Loftus, make a living testifying coast-to-coast about the frailties of human memory, especially under stressful conditions and after many years have passed. 

The prosecution's documents lay out the following. In every reference to a witness, prosecutors either redacted the person's name or replaced it with a pseudonym:

  • Witness 2 will testify that Jordan used a "dilapidated van" to store drugs and a .40 caliber firearm and that the gun went missing around the time of Jay's killing. On Feb. 3, 2003, Jordan allegedly struck a relative of Washington and fired a .40 caliber gun in the air. The bullets were the same make and model shells as those used to kill Jay but were fired from different guns.
  • Jay gave Jordan cocaine as a "test" to see if he could handle larger quantities and planned to involve him in a "Baltimore venture."
  • Witness 4 will testify that from the Fall of 2002 until at least January 2003, Washington and Jordan frequented the same trap house.
  • Jordan made a "post arrest statement" that he knew Washington and that Washington asked him to commit "shootings and robberies" together.
  • Witness 5 will testify that Jordan "threatened an individual with a gun and stated in substance that he would kill him/her like he had killed (Jay)." Witness five is described as a person who was "first as a narcotics purchaser and later as a facilitator who steered customers to Jordan and drove Jordan to resupply."
  • Witness 6 has told authorities they are afraid to testify and see two options: Testify and be killed, or refuse to cooperate and lie on the stand.
  • In 2003, a group described as the "Hollis Crew," including Jordan, his dad, and "Co-Conspirator 2," encircled Witness 1 and told them, "What goes on in Hollis stays in Hollis" and said they knew where Witness 1's family lived.
  • Since 2006, Washington "repeatedly and persistently threatened Witness 1," starting when Witness 1 cooperated with police in an unrelated robbery case against Washington.
  • In jail recorded conversations, both Jordan and Washington have "repeatedly speculated about the possible witnesses who will testify against them and who may be cooperating." Washington allegedly directed a person to contact witnesses on Facebook, and one witness reported being sent "two wolves eating a bloody animal carcass" shortly before receiving this message: "Hey it's Tinard, I'd like to talk."
  • Jordan rapped in a song with his group, Rich Fly Gee$, "We aim for the head, no body shots, and we stick around just to see the body drop." Prosecutors line that up with a 2012 YouTube interview where he said: "I rap about reality. So that's what you hear coming through my music, what I'm going through or what I've been through." 

Scroll above to view additional court documents.

Written by: Nate Gartrell